New Delhi: The Delhi Police’s Central district has apprehended 11 Bangladeshi nationals for violating the conditions of their double-entry visas by overstaying beyond the permitted duration of each visit, officials said on Wednesday.
The action was carried out under Operation VISTA 1.0 (Visa Status Verification), a special enforcement drive launched by the Foreigner Cell of the Special Staff, Central district, to identify foreign nationals who have either overstayed in India or violated the conditions of their visas while residing in the national capital.
As part of the operation, a dedicated police team was constituted under the leadership of Inspector Sandeep Dabas, In-Charge of the Anti Auto Theft Squad (AATS), Central district, and under the close supervision of ACP (Operations) Padam Singh Rana.
Police said that on the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday, while patrolling the Paharganj area, the police team received specific information from a reliable source that certain Bangladeshi nationals, whose visas had already expired, were staying illegally in Delhi.
Acting on the information, the police apprehended one individual identified as Nayeem Ahmed, a resident of Sylhet, Bangladesh, and questioned him regarding his identity and place of residence. During the inquiry, he disclosed that he was a Bangladeshi national currently residing in the Paharganj area.
He produced his Bangladeshi passport, which was verified by the police on the spot. During verification, officials found that the passport had been issued on March 23 and that his authorised stay in India was valid only until June 28.
However, he was allegedly continuing to stay in the country beyond the permitted period without obtaining any valid extension or legal authorisation, thereby violating the applicable immigration regulations.
During sustained interrogation, Nayeem Ahmed allegedly disclosed that several other Bangladeshi nationals were also residing illegally in Delhi after overstaying their visas.
The information was immediately conveyed to the In-Charge of AATS, who directed the formation of a dedicated police team to verify the inputs and take further action.
Acting on the information provided by Nayeem Ahmed and based on his identification, the police team conducted a raid at Flat No. 158, Hauz Rani in South Delhi’s Malviya Nagar, where ten more Bangladeshi nationals were allegedly found residing illegally.
The police apprehended all ten individuals and examined their passports and travel documents. Upon verification, officials found that all of them had allegedly remained in India beyond the validity of their visas and had no lawful authority to continue their stay in the country.
The findings were once again brought to the notice of the In-Charge of AATS, following which directions were issued to initiate deportation proceedings against all 11 Bangladeshi nationals in accordance with the prescribed legal procedure.
The detained individuals have been identified as Tahmid Ahmed Tanjid (19), Sajjad Hussain (25), Sabbir Ahmed (28), Nayeem Ahmed (22), MD Kamal Hossian (43), Shakil Ahmed Naim (23), MD Asharaful Haque Mamun (35), Sultan Ahmed Sojib (29), Mujammil Ahmad (30), Bakhtiar Ahmad Johuri (29), and Jakaria (26).
According to officials, verification of their passports, visas and immigration records revealed that all 11 individuals had entered India on double-entry visas, under which they were permitted to stay in the country for a maximum period of 15 days during each visit.
However, the investigation found that all of them had allegedly remained in India beyond the permissible period, thereby violating the conditions of their visas.
Following their apprehension, all 11 foreign nationals were produced before the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO), which initiated the necessary legal proceedings and issued Restriction Orders directing their detention pending completion of the deportation process.
(IANS)
